Dueling proposals to fight crime in Troy

posted by 810 & 103.1 WGY
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2 years ago

In the aftermath of 8 homicides and a surge of violence this summer, several members of Troy City Council want to see the return of the Police Department's Street Crimes Unit.

However, Troy's police chief is saying "no" to the idea of reviving the Street Crimes Unit saying it was disbanded over issues of being "over-aggressive."

Chief John Tedesco says a lot of people across the country are questioning an "over-response" by police after the racially-charged incident in Ferguson, Missouri and after the Kokopellis brawl back in January. Tedesco says he doesn't want the same thing here.

Asked about a comment in which he said the crime numbers were down in Troy, Tedesco says he doesn't think the people in Lansingburgh and North Troy care what the numbers are. He says if they don't feel safe, the police have to do better.

810 & 103.1 WGY has learned that the city's police department quietly unleashed a "Zero Tolerance Detail" this week and have already made more than a dozen arrests for things like loitering and open containers -- pointing to smaller arrests stopping bigger crimes later.